Justice Lacking
by Tricia-chan
Summary: Dee and Ryo have to face a difficult task: a sex offender being aquitted and the children he victimized being sent back to his custody. Can they stop him when he starts abusing other children and when everyone else believes his innocence?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Fake, Matoh Sanami does. All I own are the original characters in the story and the idea for the story. This fanfic has mention of a case of child abuse, so if you can't handle the subject I suggest you read no further.

Justice Lacking

Chapter 1

"In the case of the People of New York versus Calvin Meyers, has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, your Honor."

"Will the defendant please rise?"

Calvin Meyers stood up between his two high profile attorneys, not looking nervous in the least.

"On the charges of two counts child abuse, how do you find?"

"Not guilty."

"On the charges of two counts lewd and lascivious behavior, how do you find?"

"Not guilty."

"On the charges of two counts child molestation, how do you find?"

"Not guilty."

"On the charges of one count sexual abuse of a minor, how do you find?"

"Not guilty."

Each verdict sent a riptide through the courtroom. Meyers wore a smug expression as he shook his attorneys' hands.

The judge pounded the gavel. "Mr. Meyers, you're free to go. Your children are released back into your custody." 

* * *

_Not guilty… Not guilty… Not guilty… Not guilty…_

The drive home was in silence. In all honesties, nothing could really be said about what took place in the courtroom that morning.

Dee Latener took a glance at his partner before focusing on the main road. The verdict had pissed him off and he was furious that someone like Meyers not only got off scott-free, but also had custody of his stepchildren again.

But he also knew that his partner, Ryo McLain, was probably taking it the hardest.

"You okay, Ryo?" he asked soothingly, breaking the silence as he stopped at a red light.

Ryo sighed sadly. "I…I just want to get home."

"Well, we're on our way." Dee knew Ryo needed a good distraction, so he turned on the radio.

"—and when pig cops try and keep me from my children and arrest me without just cause—" Meyers's voice popped up on the radio.

Dee punched the dial to shut it off. "Shit, doesn't he have anything better to do than to rant about that over and over again?! Jesus, the trial ended a half hour ago and he's already doing interviews!!"

"Well, people believe him," Ryo said quietly. "He's a member of Social Services, after all."

Dee barely waited for the light to turn green and took off. He needed to get Ryo home and away from this whole mess. 

* * *

"Where are you going?!" demanded Dee. 

Bikky snorted. "I told you, I'm spending the night at Lai's house."

Dee glared at him suspiciously. "Are you sure that's not an excuse to go see Cal?"

Bikky kicked him. "I told you I'm spending the night at Lai's!!"

"OW!!!" Dee rubbed his hurt leg, but wasn't in the mood to fight much longer. He didn't have to guess that Bikky was watching the trial. He knew that Bikky was trying to keep things as normal as possible for Ryo's sake.

Bikky went over to Ryo, who had gone to sit down on the couch. "I'm going now, okay?"

Ryo forced a smile. "I hope you have fun, Bikky."

"Sure. Bye!" he started for the door.

"Wait!" said Ryo suddenly. "Dee, do you think you can give him a ride?"

"Huh? Why?!" demanded Dee.

"I can get to Lai's house just fine!" added Bikky.

"Bikky don't argue. Dee…please give him a ride."

Dee understood. Because of what happened today he was paranoid for Bikky. "All right. Grab your shit brat, we're going!"

Bikky made a disappointed snort as they left the apartment.

"Hey, you know he's just looking out for ya, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I saw what happened on TV. I wouldn't want that fucking pervert anywhere near me."

Dee knew he needed to redirect the conversation. "So…tell me what you have planned at Cal's house?"

Bikky turned red. "I told you I'm spending the night at Lai's!!"

"Yeah, and the sky's green. Just tell me which house you want to drop me off at."

Bikky ducked his head so Dee wouldn't have to see his reddening face. "Shut up." 

* * *

Ryo sighed heavily, still feeling the pain in his chest. On the coffee table in front of him was the daily newspaper. As Meyers's trial had been in the morning, when he got in the newspaper was in his mailbox. He couldn't help but read it. 

'**NOT GUILTY!!!! ****New York****'s most prominent Social workers walks home a free man.**'

His chest tightened more, but he felt compelled to read the article spread across the front page.

'_All eyes have been on __New York City__ for one of the most controversial cases in history. Calvin Meyers, 39, a top ranking member of Social Services, was brought up on severe charges of child abuse by his own stepchildren; Jeanie Friedwell, 12, and her brother Morgan, 7. But all that ceased when four verdicts of not guilty were read this morning._

'_"I'm very grateful to my attorneys for sticking by me in this case," said Meyers. "They never once faltered and it's because of them that I have my children again."_

'_The trial lasted for two weeks, the prosecution bringing in overwhelming evidence to support Jeanie and Morgan's claims of child abuse. Testimony from teachers, counselors, a child psychologist, medical examiners, three police officers, and Jeanie. It almost seemed like the odds were against Meyers._

'_But the defense had a strategy of their own. Testimony from other teachers, a different child psychologist, members of Social Services, friends of Jeanie and Morgan, and even an expert on police brutality. Meyers claimed during the investigation one of the officers who took the stand assaulting him, punching him three times in the face. The officer in question, Detective Randy McLain, did not deny these accusations on the stand. Meanwhile—_'

Ryo grabbed the newspaper and tore it to pieces. The article had awaken a strong rage within him that had built up over the course of the whole investigation and trial.

"How convenient for him," muttered Ryo. "That they leave out the fact that he said, 'I didn't touch the dirty whore, her pussy is open game for everyone'. I'd like to see any of them react differently under the circumstances."

He leaned back on the couch, squeezing his eyes shut. He remembered that day all too well. When he found Jeanie, a frightened little girl, sitting under a lamp post at one in the morning sobbing hysterically. When she had told him her stepfather had raped her, he wanted to kill the man. Seeing such a beautiful innocent girl covered in black and blue bruises ignited a fierce rage within him. It then became his mission to put that man away forever.

Medical examination found that she _had _been raped and there was still semen in her body. Not to mention there were old scars and bruises on her that hadn't healed.

And when she told Dee and Ryo that that hadn't been the first time, that he had been sexually abusing her and even her little brother Morgan since their mother died three years ago, arresting the man became a top priority.

Of course, what Ryo hadn't realized was that Calvin Meyers was a social worker with the cleanest record out of everyone working in Social Services, and that he was a very well-liked guy. It's hard enough removing children from the home of a social worker, but it's impossible when the head of Social Services comes over with nine other employees and tells you to fuck off.

They had to shut up though, when the district attorney came over with a warrant.

Then of course was the infamous questioning. Dee and Ryo were asking him about the abuse with Drake to back them up. Meyers avoided each answer with relative ease. All three of the men were ready to snap.

"_Mr. Meyers, your daughter was raped!" snapped Drake. "We have medical evidence to back it up, and she says you did it!! You and only you!!"_

_"I didn't touch her!!" growled Meyers, losing his temper. "I didn't touch that dirty whore!! Her pussy is open game and as far as I know everyone's had a free ride!!"_

This comment had enraged all three of them, but Ryo had been the first to lose his temper. He saw red and his mind blanked briefly. When he was aware of what was going on, Drake and Dee were restraining him and Meyers lay on the floor with a broken nose.

Something everyone can't stop talking about. Of course because of this little incident, the trial stopped being about the fact that Meyers raped Jeanie and was also sexually abusing Morgan. Ryo suddenly became the bad guy, the "corrupt cop", and Meyers was just another victim.

_No matter how I look at it, I'm at fault_, thought Ryo. _People hate cops anyway. If I had just kept myself under control, then his 'police brutality' stance wouldn't have merit and he would've been behind bars instead of giving television and radio interviews. If I had just kept myself under control…I would've been able to save Jeanie and Morgan._

The destroyed look on Jeanie's face when the jury read their verdicts was stilled etched in his mind. All her pain and suffering had been for nothing and the justice system was forcing her back into that situation.

And her words to him…they hurt the most.

_"You lied to me. You said you would get him locked up! You promised me I would never have to see him again!! You promised me that Morgan wouldn't have to fear going to bed again!! I hate you!! You lied to me!!"_

Jeanie's display, ending with her running from the courtroom, was not met with sympathy. Many people painted her as the spoiled child who didn't get her way.

It amazed Ryo just how stupid some people could be.

The front door opened and closed. Dee had returned.

"Any problems?" asked Ryo.

Dee eyed the torn pieces of newspaper on the floor. "No, I managed to drop Bikky off safely at Ca…Lai's house. But nobody will stop talking about the whole fucking thing."

"Am I still the 'bad cop' to them?" he asked quietly.

Dee walked over and pulled Ryo to his feet. "Enough. C'mon, get into bed."

Ryo hardly put up a fight when Dee directed him towards the bedroom. Moments later he was lying under the covers still fully clothed and Dee slid into bed beside him. He spooned up behind Ryo, holding him in a comforting embrace.

Ryo closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "I failed those children."

"It's not your fault," said Dee. "Sure you flew off the handle at Meyers, but you're only human. I was three seconds away from jumping him too, but you got to him first. People like to think that police officers are super human and can't feel emotions."

"I just don't understand. Jeanie was raped multiple times and Morgan was being sexually abused too. Why did I turn up being the bad guy? All I wanted to do was protect them."

"People just don't understand. They don't want to think that someone as respectable as Meyers would do things like that to his own stepchildren. They'd rather hear about a police officer hitting someone than hear all the gory details about the abuse."

"Jeanie didn't hold back, did she?"

"No, she didn't. But that's not what people wanted to hear. No one wants to believe that a social worker with a picture perfect record could do such horrible things."

Ryo opened his eyes. "Now he's going to continue abusing them. And they can't bring up charges against them."

"Well, I'm sure our precinct will keep an eye on them for a while to make sure he doesn't do anything. What I'm really worried about…is what's going to happen to us. Everyone thinks we abused Meyers—"

"_I _abused him," corrected Ryo.

"And he's already tarnished the reputation of the 27th Precinct. I don't know what kind of punishment the chief or Rose might have to hand down."

"You don't have to worry. Neither you nor Drake raised a hand to him. I'll probably be the only one to get into trouble."

"Ryo, you were already suspended for two weeks because of it. They shouldn't have to do anything worse."

"Whatever it is, I'll try to handle it. It can't possibly be worse than what Jeanie and Morgan have to face."

"…I'm sorry I mentioned it. Look, let's try to get some sleep. It's still mighty early, but I'm not really hungry. Are you?"

"No."

"So go to sleep. Maybe you'll be able to relax then."

Ryo sighed. "We're in for a long day tomorrow, aren't we?"

"Probably." 

* * *

I hope I establish a decent plotline here. Drop me a line and tell me what you think. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Bikky, I don't want you skipping school today," said Ryo into the phone. "I've had five complaints from your homeroom teacher."

"Aw, Ryo!! You know she was just lying!!" Bikky complained. "I always go to class!!"

"Really? What about that time I caught you at the arcade last month?"

"Um…"

Ryo heard another voice on the line. "Wait, Bikky…that sounded like Cal!! I thought you said you were going to Lai's house!!!"

Bikky laughed nervously on the other line before it disconnected.

Ryo put the phone down on the cradle. "**DEE**!!!!"

Dee came out of the bathroom, tying his tie. "Yeah, Ryo?"

"Can you tell me what Bikky is doing at Cal's house when you told me you dropped him off at Lai's?!"

Dee's face blanked. Then he laughed nervously. "Aw, c'mon Ryo!! Bikky's a growing boy, and—"

"You're sleeping on the couch for the next _week_!!" fumed Ryo, grabbing the car keys.

Dee paled. "A week?! Oh Ryo, how can you be so cruel—"

"Shut up, we're going to be late."

Dee whimpered as they left the apartment. _Well, at least he's stopped thinking about Meyers. At least for the moment. But I can't believe it's costing me so much to see him happy!! Ah well, all for love…_  
  
---

"Dee!! Ryo!!" called Drake. "The Commish gave me a message. He wants to see the three of us in his office!"

"Augh, why do we need to be lecture by _him _of all people?!" complained Dee, setting his stuff down at his desk.

"Look on the bright side," said Drake. "He'll go easy on you, Ryo."

Ryo paused in putting his stuff down. "I don't think so. After all, I was the one who assaulted Meyers."

"Don't be so down on yourself," said Dee. "It'll work out."

Ryo sighed heavily, his mood dropping quickly into depression.

"Well, there's no use delaying anything," said Drake, trying to break the tension. "Let's get going."  
  
---

"Take a seat," said Berkley Rose, the Commissioner of the 27th precinct.

Both Dee and Drake sat down, but Ryo remained standing.

"McLain—" began Rose.

"Don't prolong it," interrupted Ryo. "Just tell it to me straight."

Rose nodded curtly. "All right. Meyers and his lawyers have done a great job painting him to be the victim. So much that the District Attorney wants to seek "justice" for him. Truthfully they just want him to shut the hell up, but he won't until he gets "justice" for "police brutality"."

"Am I fired?" Ryo demanded.

Rose rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? When we have as many short hands as we do now? No, Meyers won't be getting that much satisfaction."

"So, what's going to happen to us?" asked Dee.

Rose flipped through a file. "His lawyers ask that all three of you undergo a psychological evaluation."

"That perv has the nerve to question _our _sanity?!" snapped Drake.

"Hell, with that evaluation I might get fired that way," said Dee, rubbing his forehead.

"Why do Dee and Drake have to undergo it too?!" demanded Ryo. "I was the only one who attacked him!!"

"That may be, but his lawyers are insisting that along with your punches that broke his nose, Dee and Drake abused him with harsh words and threats."

"Yeah, we're the ones who forced him to keep referring to his stepdaughter as a 'dirty whore'," growled Drake angrily.

"They also want all three of you to take anger management classes," said Rose.

Both Dee and Drake yelled angrily about it. Ryo tried to remain calm throughout the situation. "…Anything else?"

"That's it for Dee and Drake," said Rose. "For you Ryo, Meyers is sticking to his claim to refuse pressing charges."

"Lucky him," muttered Dee. "If he took Ryo to trial, then he would've had to have been subjected to the interrogation tape where he kept calling Jeanie a whore."

"But…" Rose pulled something out and handed it to Ryo. "His attorneys wanted to give you this."

Ryo took the document and read. His heart wrenched in his heart as he read it.

"Ryo, what is it?" asked Dee.

"It's a restraining order," Ryo said softly, not trusting his voice. "This is a claim that I harassed Morgan and Jeanie to accuse Meyers of sexual abuse and I'm not allowed to go within one hundred feet of them or even speak to them."

"Fucker," cursed Dee. "That means they can't tell you if he continues the abuse!!"

Ryo closed his eyes. "Even without the restraining order, Jeanie doesn't have any faith in me to protect her again. If he picks up the abuse, she won't call me." Ryo half turned towards the door. "If that's all, then I want to get to work."

"I'm sorry Ryo, but there's more," said Rose. "Meyers's attorneys demand that you be prohibited from using any firearms other than the one issued to you for a while."

"What the fuck does that mean?!" demanded Drake.

"Yeah, all Ryo did was punch him!!" said Dee. "He didn't pull a gun on him!!"

"Meyers felt the need to quote "protect anyone else from Randy McLain's brutality", en-quote."

Ryo sighed heavily. "Don't they realize that I can't do a sniper job if they put that restriction on?"

"Yes, I've told them over and over again that you're our best marksman. But they simply don't care; either we comply or they'll keep screaming "police brutality" until everyone in this precinct is fired."

Ryo headed for the door. "I'm going to look at my current cases."

"McLain—"

But Ryo was gone from the office and storming down the hall. His depression was mixing with the suppressed anger that was continuously building up.

_Psychological evaluations?! Anger management classes?! Losing privilege to use firearms?! A fucking restraining order on Jeanie and Morgan?!_

Ryo punched his desk furiously, seething in anger.

_I can't believe the D.A.'s office bent to his will. I can't believe that FUCKING BABY-RAPER is ruining me!!! Shit, why did this become a case about police brutality and NOT about two innocent kids being assaulted?!_

Ryo sat down at his desk and buried his face in his hands. _I don't think I can take much more of this. But I'm gonna have to cope with this. I can't be a cop if I brood all the time…_

A hand touched his shoulder. Ryo looked up to see Dee wearing a concerned expression on his face.

"Have some coffee," he offered, placing a cup in front of him. "Please don't stress yourself out so much."

Ryo took hold of the cup. "Thanks, Dee. I'll try to pull myself together. All this chaos can't stop me from being a cop."

Dee hesitantly placed a sheet of paper on his desk. "I hate to give you these, but…here."

Ryo glanced at them. "What are they?"

"Schedules for our anger management classes and the date of our psychological evaluation. I guess we lucked out; we all have our evaluations on the same day and the same times for our anger management classes."

Ryo sighed, drinking his coffee. "…I'm gonna try not to let it get to me. The more edgy and distressed I am, the harder it'll be for me to pass both."

"You said it," said Dee, drinking his coffee. "Drake was mighty pissed off about each, but understands that he has to keep it cool to make it. I don't know how calm he'll stay; what, with JJ as his partner."

Ryo laughed. "Unlike you Dee, Drake happens to get along with JJ rather well!!"

Dee smiled. "I'm glad to see you in higher spirits."

"…I'm still depressed over Jeanie, Morgan, and this whole mess in general. But…if I want to keep my job, I'm going to have to pull myself together."

Dee was about to say something, but a yell from Drake cut him off.

"We got a domestic disturbance call!!" he yelled. "Some of the uniformed officers are having a hard time and need some help. I'd go, but I have a shitload of paperwork to do. Not to mention Ted and Marty aren't here to answer the call, so…"

Ryo stood up. "We'll take it. What are the specifics?"

Drake looked at his pad. "It's about some yelling and stuff breaking at an apartment with a lady, her son, and her boyfriend. A neighbor called."

"Do they really want detectives to go down there?" asked Dee, confused.

"Well, they said they have another problem too that needs addressing."

"…All right. Let's go see what happened."  
  
---

"Officer, everything's all right now," said the woman, trying to be calm with a cracked voice. "I just took a nasty fell. You don't have to worry."

Ryo frowned at her two black eyes and bleeding nose. "Ms. Gradfern, your neighbor called us saying she was hearing abuse over here."

"Oh no, Marcia always exaggerates everything. Really, all I did was fall down and knock over a few lamps."

"The neighbor in question who called lives two floors above you," said Dee, eyeing the bulky heaving man handcuffed on the couch. "In fact, there have been a total of eight calls in just this week alone about abuse."

Ms. Gradfern shook her head. "Really, nothing's wrong—"

"Why don't you just tell 'em the truth?!" growled the man. "That you were stupid enough to spend _our rent money _on a new coat?!"

Ryo turned to one of the uniformed officers. "Is this all true?"

"Ms. Gradfern admitted to spending about three hundred dollars on a brand name coat," said the officer.

"Everything seems squared here!!" hissed Dee. "Why'd they call us?"

"Actually, this problem is solved," said the officer. "There's something else that's very troubling. Come with me."

Dee and Ryo followed the officer towards the back of the apartment while the other officer kept an eye on the man. Ms. Gradfern quickly followed, trying to explain something. When they reached the room in question, a child's bedroom, Ryo knew what was wrong.

A little boy sat on the bed holding a stuff clown. A red welt was strongly visible on his cheek.

"Keep your cool," Dee hissed to Ryo. He then turned to Ms. Gradfern. "Who hit the kid?"

Ms. Gradfern sputtered, but said nothing coherent.

Dee advanced on her. "Did I stutter?! Who hit the kid?!"

_And __Dee__ tells me to keep _my _cool_, thought Ryo. He sat on the floor next to the bed. "What's the clown's name?"

"Bozo," said the boy quietly.

"I didn't touch him!!" cried Ms. Gradfern. "Corey, tell them!!"

"Take her into the other room!" said Dee. He turned to Ryo. "We'll need him to tell us who did that to him."

"All right," said Ryo. He stood up and held out a hand to Corey. "Corey, can you come with me?"

Corey stared at him suspiciously.

"I'm a police officer. You can trust me."

Corey hesitantly took his hand. Ryo reluctantly lead him out of the bedroom and into the main room. Ms. Gradfern was hysterical and her boyfriend was now silent.

"Corey, what happened to your face?" asked Ryo.

"It got hurt," said Corey.

"How did it get hurt?"

"I'll tell you how!!" Ms. Gradfern suddenly shrieked. She jabbed a finger at her boyfriend. "That bastard there did it!!"

"What?! I'm not taking the fall for this!!!" he growled back. He looked at Ryo. "Look, she's the one who hit him!! He spilled milk and she whacked him with a belt!!"

"No I didn't!! You hit him all the time!!"

"Yeah, tell the cops whatever you want!! But you're the one who took a belt to his face!!"

"I only did it because you threatened me!!" Ms. Gradfern shrieked. She then clamped her hands over her hands, realizing what she said.

"You're both under arrest," said Dee. One of the officers handcuffed her and both we dragged from the apartment. "Well, that went quick."

"Should I place a call to Services?" asked one of the other officers.

"There's no need," said a familiar voice from the doorway. "Services has already sent someone."

Ryo looked at the door. All too easy a burning fury lanced through him at the horrible smiling face staring back at him.

"Long time no see, Detectives," said Calvin Meyers, smiling. "Services sent me here to take custody of that boy."  
  
---

Ooh, a twist!! How does the story look so far? Be sure to drop me your thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, a lot of reviews for the second chapter!! Thanks everyone!! I show my appreciation, here's the third chapter!!

Chapter 3

Dee quickly reached out to grab Ryo's arm to prevent him from doing anything more to Meyers. Then again, his own rage towards the man in the doorway was suffocating him.

"How'd you know to come?" asked one of the uniformed officers suspiciously. "We didn't even place in the call!!"

"Earlier this week a neighbor reporting child abuse to us," said Meyers, still smiling. "I'm just answering the call. Usually I would've responded immediately, but given the current _circumstances_…"

Dee tightened his hold on Ryo's arm, only to have Ryo pry his arm away. Ryo was glaring at Meyers with every ounce of hate, but looking professional while doing so.

"I'm surprised to see you two detectives here," said Meyers, addressing Dee and Ryo. "For a simple domestic dispute?"

"We were called because of the report of child abuse," said Dee through clenched teeth.

"Ah, I see. And as detectives you couldn't just ignore such a case, could you?"

Dee was about to retort with a rude insult, but held it back.

"Well, there's no use delaying things." Meyers boldly walked over to Ryo and Corey, who was still holding his hand. "Hello, little Corey. How are you feeling?"

"My cheek hurts," said Corey, nursing the red welt on his face.

Meyers frowned at the mark. "That's a bad boo-boo. We should have a doctor look at that." He held out his hand. "You can come with me; I'm not going to hurt you."

Ryo wouldn't let go of Corey's hand. "Mr. Meyers, are you even sure you should be here? And in close proximity of me?"

Meyers gave Ryo a cold smile. "You don't have to worry, Detective McClain. The restraining order doesn't pertain to me overall, but to my two children."

"Gee, how _are_ Jeannie and Morgan?" snapped Dee. "I don't see how you would know! In between various interviews and returning to work rather quickly!!"

"Careful, Detective Latener," said Meyers, turning back to Corey. "Those words are enough grounds for me to file a complaint against you."

"Your trip is rather wasted," said Ryo, not letting go of Corey. "We have to take Corey to the station for questioning."

"There's no need. His mother and her boyfriend already admitted to the abuse." Meyers sighed heavily and stood. "Look, I have authorization to be here and you two are preventing me from doing my job. If you think I'm insufficient in my role as a member of Services, then contact my supervisor and take it up with her."

Ryo glared. Meyers knew damn well that his supervisor would never pursue a complaint if Ryo and Dee filed it. After all, she had sided with Meyers throughout _his_ child abuse case.

"In the meantime, it's my job to take this child into my custody. If you don't let me do such, I'll call Internal Affairs and you can explain to them why you won't let this child come with me."

Ryo bit back a slur of curses. "Are you threatening us, Mr. Meyers? From what it looks like, we aren't interfering with you; you're interfering with us. Corey Gradfern is a victim of child abuse and it's our job to find out how long this has been going on."

Meyers's earlier calm was waning and he was returning Ryo's glare. "No matter how it ended up, who do you think Internal Affairs will side with in the long run? A well-respected Social Service worker? Or a mediocre cop with a short fuse? Well, you both know who Internal Affairs busts, don't you?"

Ryo closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Meyers was trying to provoke them. To try to get Ryo to punch him again.

But, he couldn't ignore that fact that Meyers was right. He _did _have authorization to take Corey. And if he contacted Internal Affairs, they wouldn't hesitate to put Dee and Ryo out of a job. Very reluctantly, he let go of Corey's hand.

"Go ahead," he said calmly. "You're right; we don't have grounds to stop you from taking this boy."

"Ryo!!" Dee hissed.

"But I will say this," continued Ryo. "If anything happens to this boy, even if he's out of your care, the blame will be placed on you for overriding our decision to take Corey to the station."

Meyers nodded. "I understand, Detective McClain. But you should know that not once has a child been hurt in my care, as is shown by my record."

"Yeah, no children except for maybe Jeannie and Morgan," Dee grumbled to himself.

"I'm sorry Detective Latener, did you say something?"

"No. Absolutely nothing."

"Well, let's go Corey."

Meyers took hold of the boy's hand and led him out of the apartment.

"We'll finish up here," said one of the uniformed officers, looking uncomfortable at the looks on Ryo and Dee's faces.

"Thank you," said Ryo curtly, walking out of the apartment.

Dee quickly followed. "Wow, Ryo!! You really handled yourself well back there!!"

"I'm a cop first and foremost," said Ryo, his angered look drooping to a depressed one. "I can't believe I let him take that child, though…"

"Hey, you were just following procedure. Didn't you see him? He wanted you to act to give the chief a reason to fire you. But you were professional."

"…He completely avoided your question about Jeannie and Morgan."

"Of course he will. I doubt he's continuing the abuse to avoid a controversy, but I can guess Jeannie might be giving him hell."

Ryo smiled a little. "She's a very strong girl. It's terrible that I made her put so much faith in me…"

Dee patted his shoulder. "Let's get back. We still have our other cases to work on."

---

"How'd it go?" asked Drake, approaching their desks.

"Guess who was there," said Dee around his cup of coffee.

Drake's face hardened. "Meyers?!"

"Yeah. Doing his job, or so he says. We had no choice but let the kid go with him."

"Ooh, I wish I had gone!! I wouldn't mind punching the shit out of him!! Ryo, how'd it feel to punch him?"

"I didn't really feel anything," said Ryo blankly. "I lashed out in a blind rage."

"Oh…"

Suddenly there were loud footsteps approaching. Drake and Ryo easily saw who was coming, but Dee wasn't paying attention.

"DEE-SEMPAI!!!!!!!!" Dee choked on his hot coffee as someone pounced on him from behind. Then he was nearly strangled as arms locked around his neck in a tight embrace.

"J…J!!!!!!" he choked out, trying to throw the smaller man off him.

"I've got news!!" said JJ, tightening his hold.

Ryo stood up, noting Dee's blue face. "JJ, you're choking him."

JJ quickly let go. "I-I'm sorry, Sempai!!"

Dee choked and sputtered, trying to get air.

"So, what of news did you have?" asked Drake.

"The chief wants to see Sempai and Ryo in his office!! And there's a woman there too!!"

Ryo sighed heavily. "I think I know what this is about." He grabbed Dee's sleeve, who was still choking. "Let's go, Dee. Might as well talk things through with that Services woman."

"But—" said JJ.

But they had already left.

"Aw, why didn't I warn 'em?"

"About what?" asked Drake.

"The woman in chief's office!! She's not from Social Services!! She's from…"

---

Ryo knocked on the chief's office door.

"Come in!!" yelled the Chief.

Ryo opened the door, expecting to see Meyers's supervisor sitting in front of the Chief's desk. Instead he saw a woman he didn't recognize standing _behind_ the Chief. She wore her light brown hair short to her chin and her dark blue eyes were overshadowed by her glasses.

"Sit down!!" said the Chief, who looked extremely nervous.

Dee and Ryo complied, each looking at the woman.

"What's going on?" asked Dee.

"This is Cassandra Raight from Internal Affairs," said the Chief, glaring at them. "She—"

"I'm here in response to a complaint filed against the both of you earlier today," she said, going right to the point. "A one Calvin Meyers."

Ryo clenched his teeth. That hadn't been an empty threat; Meyers had actually called them. But on what grounds?

"According to Meyers, you both forcibly tried to prevent him from doing his job. He said both of you, especially you Detective Latener, were exceptionally rude to him."

"Us rude?!" growled Dee.

Ryo stood up. "Such behavior does not merit enough evidence for Internal Affairs to respond to it. May I ask what else he claims?"

Cassandra nodded slowly. "He claims you two tried to badger him about his two children. As you both are aware, he was tried for child abuse and acquitted of all charges."

"Is that all?!" yelled Dee, standing up. "What the hell kind of reason is that to call Internal Affairs on us?! We didn't attack him!!"

"Neither of you are under arrest," said Cassandra. "We just find it odd that the three of you interacted just 24 hours after he was acquitted."

"We were only doing our job, Ms. Raight," said Ryo. "Nobody asked him to go straight back to work. And if anything, he was interfering with our work. We needed to ask Corey Gradfern some questions to see just how long the abuse had been going on. If we said anything bad to him, then the things he said are worse. Being threatened constitutes for a response, don't you think?"

Cassandra sighed, taking off her glasses. "No one's accusing you two of anything. But Meyers happens to be a minor celebrity at the moment and you both don't exactly get along with him—"

Dee scoffed, turning to leave. "I'm not getting involved in this investigation. I've done nothing wrong, so you have no right to question us."

"Dee!!" said Ryo. But Dee had already left.

Cassandra came around the desk. "Mr. McClain, for the sake of ending this investigation ASAP, I need for you to tell me your side of the story of what happened."

Ryo nodded reluctantly. It wouldn't be too difficult; he remembered what happened almost word for word.

---

"…And then he said, "_No matter how it ended up, who do you think Internal Affairs will side with in the long run? A well-respected Social Service worker? Or a mediocre cop with a short fuse? Well, you both know who Internal Affairs busts, don't you?_"," said Ryo calmly, glancing at the recorder.

Cassandra marked some stuff down. "Go on."

Ryo continued to recreate the whole scene that had happened. Having it close to memory helped overall.

"And then he took Corey Gradfern into his custody and left," he finished.

Cassandra turned off the recorder. "Hmm, it was very similar to what Meyers had said, though he omitted the threats made about calling us."

Ryo swallowed. "But you're still going to side with him." It wasn't a question.

"McClain, it's our job to investigate cops. And Meyers is _very _influential in this area. It—"

Ryo stood up. "I knew this would be a waste of time. I shouldn't have said anything."

"McClain, bear in mind Meyers was found innocent _and _gave about fifteen television and radio interviews yesterday. The media is on his side; everyone believes his innocence!!"

"I don't care. None of the media talked with Jeannie and Morgan. None of the media reviewed the overwhelming evidence that supported their claims that they were being abused. No, all they did was paint two innocent kids as spoiled brats because that sells!!!"

"McClain, calm down. Like I said; neither you nor Detective Latener are under arrest. But as my office required of me, I'm to investigate the both of you. Meaning, I will be with you two when you're on the job."

Ryo sighed heavily. "Fine. Just don't paint us as the bad guys; the media and Meyers are doing a great job of it on their own."

"How I paint you depends on how you two carry yourselves. With any luck, you won't lose your temper and lashed out at criminals. I'm sure losing your job as an officer is the last thing you want."


	4. Chapter 4

Hello all! Sorry for the long wait, but here's chapter 4!

Chapter 4

"I just got off the phone with Services," said Dee, looking quite upset. "Corey Gradfern has been safely put into foster care."

Ryo sighed in relief as he took a seat at his desk. "I'm glad. I was afraid for a little while there."

"The child was left in the care of Social Services," said Cassandra over her clipboard. "They always do their job."

Dee glared at her. He wasn't going to tolerate Internal Affairs investigating them, but said nothing obnoxious to her. Last thing he needed was for them to create an excuse to fire him.

Cassandra remained standing, flipping through a file. "You two have been partners for about two years, correct?"

"Yes," said Ryo, trying to be courteous to her.

"Ah, and quite an arrangements of misconducts." She read something and raised an eyebrow at Dee. "Indivertibly setting off a bomb at your former station?"

Dee grunted at her.

"It was an accident," said Ryo, shooting Dee a hard glance. "And we were punished accordingly."

"Yes, it's here." Cassandra flipped through some more papers. "Hmm, a serial rapist/killer was taken into your custody black and blue."

"Self-defense," grunted Dee.

"Yes, that's also written here."

Dee stood up quickly, glaring at Cassandra. "Can I ask why are you asking us these questions when the file's in front of you?"

"Part of the investigation," said Cassandra matter-of-factly. "I must say that you have garnered yourself enough misconduct reports to lose your badge, Mr. Latener…"

"I don't have to listen to this!!" snapped Dee. "I'm a damn good cop who does his job; who the hell cares how many complaints I get?!?!"

Before anything else could be said, Dee stormed off. Ryo didn't know what to say; apologize? Agree?

"I'm use to it," said Cassandra, taking Dee's seat. "I've noticed that you managed yourself a near spotless record, McClain. Well, near spotless prior to your reassignment to the 27th Precinct."

Ryo winced a bit. Being Dee's partner made sure that he didn't get away from Dee's antics unscathed. Although he usually got the cushion of the punishment, it went on his record anyway.

"Dee's a good cop and so am I," said Ryo, his fists clenching underneath his desk. "We meet some problems, but we take our jobs seriously and see each assignment through. I couldn't ask for a better partner."

Cassandra eyed Ryo over her glasses. "You certainly put a lot of feeling into your words, McClain. Latener and you must be close."

Ryo found himself standing up in a much similar fashion that Dee did. "That's none of your business, Ms. Raight. If that's all, then you'll have to excuse me—"

"I'm afraid that my investigation doesn't just end like that," said Cassandra, snapping her fingers. "I have to find out just how capable you are as cops. So you can expect me to oversee a few of your anger management classes and to be the first to review your psychological evaluations. Your first one is this coming Saturday, correct? I'll be sure to be there."

Ryo paled. He knew he could manage both even with Cassandra looking over their shoulders, but Dee…just seeing her might set him off, and it might cost him his job.

"You don't have to worry," Ryo said firmly. "Dee and I are going to pass our anger management classes and our psychological evaluations."

"I do hope so, McClain. Because both Latener and your past records are against you. And if you _do _happen to fail both, you can expect Internal Affairs requesting your badges."

Ryo clenched his teeth. What was with this woman? Even as someone from Internal Affairs, she was acting so cold and impersonal. It was like she couldn't give a rat's ass what the end result was.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint Internal Affairs, but we _will _pass our examinations. And when we do, I _expect_ to hear an apology from you."

Cassandra didn't even blink at the sarcasm in Ryo's voice. "If you say so, McClain. In the meantime, don't you have work to do?"

Ryo sighed heavily. "Yes, I do. So does Dee; I'll go get him."

"Goddammit Dee, just listen to me!!" growled Ryo, watching Dee pace around the parking garage. "Ms. Raight isn't playing around!! She's going to be attending our anger management classes and reviewing the results of our psychological evaluations!! If she sees the slightest thing wrong with us, she'll have us fired!!!"

Dee let out a slew of swearwords; tossing aside the cigarette he had just lit. "Fucking Internal Affairs!! Why is it that they feel the need to _only_ investigate the decent, hardworking cops while turning a blind eye to the drug-slinging, information selling corrupt ones?! That damn bitch is really pissing me off!! I already told her I wanted no part in the investigation, but she just _has _to pull me in!! Fucking—"

Ryo clamped a hand over Dee's mouth. "Stop it!! You have to keep your cool!! You can rant all you want in the car and at the apartment, but _please_ do not go on a rant out in the open!! If Ms. Raight sees you in this state, she'll get you fired right on the spot!! You have to keep your cool Dee!! It isn't right what's happening to us, but think of our jobs! How will we ever get by if we lose our badges?!"

Dee sighed behind Ryo's hand. He took hold of it and kissed the palm. "I know. I can't help but feeling so pissed off!! This is all that fucking Meyers's fault; filing that false claim!!"

Ryo closed his eyes, letting out a sad sigh. "If anyone's at fault, it's me. It's because of me that we're in this mess. I'm the one who lost my temper with Meyers, and as a result he got acquitted. All because I couldn't keep my cool, I just had to go and break his nose—"

"It's your turn to shut up," interrupted Dee. "None of this was your fault. You're only human Ryo; as much as people like to forget that cops are human. You said you would stop beating yourself up; why are you back on it?"

"I can't help it Dee. Look at us. We tried to save two wonderful, abused children and our lives get turned upside down. What's worse, Meyers's can't be brought up on charges against Jeanie and Morgan again. It was all for nothing."

"Ryo, please stop. Yeah, Meyers was found 'not guilty'. But we made the world see Social Services in a different light, even for only a few seconds. And everyone here knows that we're good cops. What's most important is that _we_ know we're good cops."

Ryo sighed again, forcing himself to nod. "I know, Dee. I…we can't afford to think of Meyers right now. We have to focus on the challenges that lay ahead of us because of him. But if we face it together…we might turn out all right."

"That's the spirit!!" laughed Dee, kissing him full on the lips. "All right, let's go back. Can't keep the bitch waiting."

"Dee, at least call her by her name!!"

"Bitch isn't her name?"

That Saturday… 

"A Saturday night," groaned Drake, looking out at the sun setting over New York. "Plenty of things to do. But _no_, I'm stuck in anger management classes!!"

"Shut the hell up, Drake," grumbled Dee, not happy with the time either. "We're stuck too."

"And Ms. Raight said she'd be at tonight's meeting," said Ryo. "So you guys need to act mature."

Dee and Drake glared at Ryo.

"Here we are," said Ryo. He opened the door to see a brightly lit room with blue carpeting. In the center of the room, several chairs faced each other in a circle.

And Cassandra was seated at the front of the room.

As they made their way into the room, Ryo felt uncomfortable. Those who had arrived before them looked up. Some went back to their small conversations, others continued to stare at them. A few even pointed and laugh.

"All right, please be seated," called the instructor as he entered the room. Everyone scurried to take seats.

"Officer Latener?" choked a middle aged man, clearly amused at seeing him. "You're taking these classes?! You arrested me for disorderly conduct last year, yet here you are in _anger management _classes?!"

Dee started to stand, but Ryo grabbed a hold of his arm. He nodded pointedly at Cassandra. Dee grunted, but sat back down.

"Settle down," said the instructor, smiling happily at everyone. "All right then. Welcome to my anger management course. I'm Dr. Lipston and I'll be your instructor. Let's start things off with introductions. Starting with you."

They went around the circle, introducing themselves.

"Randy McClain," said Ryo. Several of the patrons muttered amongst themselves. Ryo had no doubt that they had read about him

"Dee Latener," said Dee.

"Drake Parker," said Drake, looking bored already.

"I'm Dr. Gregory Lipston," said Dr. Lipston, reintroducing himself. "Hello everyone. Now that we're introduced, let's get further acquainted. Share what you do for a living."

Once again, everyone responded.

"Mechanic," said the man who had addressed Dee earlier. He had been staring at Dee since he saw him.

Then it came to Ryo.

"I'm a detective," he said automatically.

"Piece of shit cop," muttered someone.

Dr. Lipston clapped his hands. "Enough! We are not here to exploit others. We've had plenty of cops in this course and they all passed with flying colors." Obviously Dr. Lipston had missed the point entirely. "Anyways, what do you do Dee?"

"I plead the fifth," said Dee.

"Um, Drake?"

"Plead the fifth," echoed Drake.

"They're both cops, along with McClain," said Cassandra from her seat. Dee glared murderously at her.

"Three cops in one class? I've never had that many before," said Dr. Lipston. "All right, let's continue."

Once everyone had said his or her profession, Dr. Lipston said, "Now onto the next stage of our acquainting: why we're here. Don't be afraid to tell everyone why you're here. It's an open forum; we all have equal problems."

"What the hell kind of class is this?" Drake muttered to Dee.

"I pushed my ex out my apartment window and he broke both his legs," said a woman. "I got let off with community service and this."

A straight-laced man fidgeted in his chair. "I, um, have a short fuse and, um, have a habit of throwing large objects."

This continued until it reached Ryo.

He stood up. He made a glance at Cassandra and said, "I'm here as per part of the arrangements made with the D.A.'s office." He said no more and sat back down.

"Wait, didn't you slug that Meyers's guy and you're here to escape him pressing charges against you?" asked someone.

"I'm also here as part of the D.A.'s orders," interrupted Dee, glaring at the person.

"Me too," said Drake.

Ryo was relieved at their interruption, but couldn't help but feel that the damage was done. He glanced at Cassandra, who was writing something down.

Once everyone had spoken, Dr. Lipston stood up. "Well, it's good that we have our problems out in the open. And I'm so pleased that you all realize what your specific problem is."

"There ain't nothing wrong with me," muttered Drake.

"I ain't crazy like everyone else here," muttered Dee.

"The aim of this course is to recognize deep down what your problem is and how you can go about fixing this problem. By the end of this course, you should all be in top shape and feeling much better about yourselves.

"Today's session is just about up. Please pick up the booklets located near the door on your way out. Remember our next meeting; next week, same time same place."

"There goes my Saturdays," grumbled Drake. They all made a beeline for the door.

"Hold on, detectives," said Cassandra. "I need a quick word."

"Me too?" muttered Drake as they walked over to her. "I'm not under investigation…"

"So all three of you are the ones who interrogated Meyers during your investigation?" asked Cassandra, eyeing the three of them.

"We're the only cops here," said Dee, sounding polite with a steely voice.

Cassandra turned to Ryo. "Care to comment on what that man said?"

"It's a lie," said Ryo. "Meyers never once filed charges against me for punching him. That's why I'm here and not in a jail cell."

"I see."

"And since it's a lie, then there's no need to think twice about it," said Dee.

"I'll decide what to think about, Latener. Because McClain was the one who assaulted Meyers, I need to know the facts."

Ryo felt his temper rising. He was growing sick of this woman. She was only doing her job, but she followed them everywhere at work and asked them both questions not even related to the investigation. All she wanted was facts, facts, facts.

"You want facts?!" he snapped. "Listen to the interrogation tape!! Hear all the dirty things Meyers said about Jeanie!! See what you think of him after that!!"

Ryo stormed from the room, not even bothering to pick up a booklet. He needed to cool down before heading home.

_This is that bastard's entire fault!! My life is turning to shit and I can't ever help Jeanie and Morgan!! He's _not guilty_ in the eyes of the law, and I can't go within 100 feet of the children!!!_

He stopped walking and sighed heavily. He had to stop fuming. His life was on the line here. He had to pass those classes and the psychological evaluation. He couldn't help other abused children without his badge; and without his badge he couldn't really live. He didn't know how to be anything but a cop; and he needed to support Bicky…

_I got myself into this mess, and I have to get myself out. I'm not about to let Meyers and the media win!! I _will _pass these tests and prove to everyone that I am a decent cop!!_


	5. Chapter 5

Goddamn, talk about a hiatus! In between school and my jobs it's been extremely difficult for me to write anything! Well, I'm trying to get my head back into the game and hopefully this new chapter will help me! I hope you enjoy and I'm so terribly sorry for the wait!

And soubi202, I just thought of the doctor's name off the top of my head.

Chapter 5

The following Monday didn't work to be favorable for the detectives either. It started off on its usual low note thanks to the media.

Dee coughed, while trying to clean up the mess he had made with his coffee. Like any other morning, he had sat down to read the paper while drinking a cup of coffee. But it was the contents on the front page that caused him to spew up the coffee he had been drinking.

"Shit, man!" snapped Bikky, having jumped away from the table. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

Between coughs Dee tossed the newspaper at him. Upon seeing the article on the front page, Bikky paled. "Holy shit..."

In bold letters was clearly written, **'Easy Ride for Evil Deeds'. **A short, but damaging article, then followed it:

"_When Calvin Meyers was acquitted of the sexual and physical abuse of his two stepchildren, spotlight was shined upon the detectives involved in his investigation. One of the lead detectives in the case, Randy McClain, never denied assaulting Meyers during the investigation._

"_Now it appears these allegations are true. All three of the detectives cited in the investigations against Meyers, McClain, Dee Latener, and Drake Parker were spotted at a treatment center undergoing anger management classes. Speculation has arisen that this is their punishment as arranged between Meyers and the D.A._

"_But is it really enough? The fact that all three of them have been entered into the class leaves little to the imagination. Just how much harm did they really do not just to Meyers, but to Jeanie and Morgan? Are we all safe with—_"

Bikky tore up the newspaper. "Well, everyone I know don't read the newspaper so you should be all right. They ain't trying to warn the public, just trying to sell copies."

"I know." And Dee did know it. But now there was going to be a lot of scrutiny upon the 27th because of the fucking article. Not too mention Ryo…the whole situation was hurting him and all he did was lose his temper just like the next person.

_Thank God there's a shortage of cops_, he though grimly, gathering up his things. _They won't toss us out on our asses over a couple of tabloid rumors…_

Ryo came out of the bathroom, fixing his tie. "How do things look today?"

Both Dee and Bikky laughed nervously. "Everything's fine!"

Ryo narrowed his eyes at them. "What happened?"

"It's been leaked to the media that we're in anger management," said Dee quickly. "But—"

"It's fine," interrupted Ryo. "With all the people there on Saturday it's no wonder the media found out. But I.A. and our boss already know about it, so it's no big deal."

"That's the spirit!" cheered Dee, slapping him on the back.

"Do you think reporters will be down there waiting?" asked Bikky.

Dee laughed. "I'm sure they have better things to do than mess with us!"

---

"McClain—"

"How do you respond to—"

"Is it true that—"

"Did you tell Jeanie and Morgan to—"

"Holy shit!" yelled Dee as they finally made it through the front door. Unlike his previous assessment reporters from every news outlet had been waiting for them outside the 27th. It took them fifteen minutes to get inside and both nearly snapped and got physical with the vultures for their inappropriate comments.

"Do you…" gasped Ryo, exhausted from _that_ battle. "Do you think they really think we manipulated Jeanie and Morgan into making those accusations?"

"Of course not! They're just asking questions dumbasses think of!" Dee straightened, ignoring the blank stares they were getting. "C'mon, let's get to work!"

When they reached their office it was buzzing with talk of the article and of the reporters hounding the station outside.

"I don't fucking appreciate them printing my name like this!" Drake complained loudly, slamming his newspaper into the trash. "Fucking roaches!"

"This'll all blow over soon enough," said Ted. "People have always hated us. Once there's trouble they'll call us up, act appreciative, and then hate us all over again. It's the same cycle as usual."

"I don't think this one's going to blow over so quickly," said Dee, dumping his stuff at his desk. Ryo set his stuff down at his own and sat down. Dee glanced out the window. "What the—are they _interviewing_ an officer bringing in a suspect!"

"It sure looks like it," said Drake over his shoulder. "Huh. They must be asking why the dude has bruises on his face."

"I can't believe they're making so much trouble over a child raper," grumbled Jim. A small crowd of them formed around the window. "I haven't seen physical evidence fail this much since Susan Cummings."

"DEE-SEMPAI!" cried J.J. All of the men got out of the way and Dee was promptly tackled against the glass. "I don't believe what those newspapers say!"

"Great, now get the fuck off me!" gurgled Dee against the glass.

"Oi!" yelled the chief, clapping his hands. "Get back to work! All these reporters shouldn't make you forget about your cases!"

Everyone got back to work as best as they could, with Cassandra observing them all over her glasses. Ryo was relieved that she hadn't mentioned the article, or really much of anything; just watching them and writing on her clipboard.

He hadn't spoken to her since he exploded at her at the anger management meeting. He figured it'd probably be a mark against him but he didn't care. She didn't seem to get just how important their jobs were to them and how _innocent _they were in this situation.

_I'll show you, _he thought pointedly to her. _Dee, Drake, and I are good cops. We have our bad points but we get the job done! It's not our fault the justice system worked against us this time and that the media's trying to ruin our lives to sell magazines! But it won't defeat us!_

---

It was a difficult time for all of them, but they managed to get through each day through the slander and the threats and the ever-imposing presence of Internal Affairs. But slowly, the number of reporters disappeared outside of the 27th and things were starting to get back to normal.

At least _there_.

The anger management classes were also difficult. They hadn't done anything wrong and people with serious temper issues surrounded them. As the weeks went by all three of them managed the simple tasks of maintaining their anger, much to Dr. Lipston's immense joy.

"You're coming along nicely, more so than any of the other cops I've had in my group!" he said cheerfully.

"That's because we don't belong here," grumbled Dee angrily.

But of course they came upon the thing they were loathing more than anything: the psychological evaluation.

Their evaluator was the precinct's psychologist, Vivian Brandy. Ryo had only met her a few times, but she was an extremely pleasant woman. It made him feel a little more relieved knowing that.

But his evaluation would be last and all their evaluation were two hours apart. When it was finally his turn to go down and see her, he was shocked to see Cassandra waiting for him.

"It's against policy to observe the evaluation," she said. "But I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"That's uncalled for," said Ryo, mildly surprised. For what reason would he have to act up in the middle of a psych evaluation.

"Go ahead," said Cassandra, motioning to the office with her pen, her expression set in stone.

Ryo was angry she would speak to him that way, but that easily melted when he entered the easy-going atmosphere of Dr. Brandy's office.

"Good afternoon, Randy," greeted Vivian warmly. She was pretty popular in the department not just because of her kind nature but also because she was stunning. She wore her pale blonde hair to her shoulders in a pageboy style and her light brown eyes illuminated kindness.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Brandy," he answered, looking around as if expecting an audience.

"We have privacy today, Randy," said Vivian, motioning to her couch. "Let's get started, shall we?"

Ryo nodded. "All right."

The evaluation itself went smoothly. Vivian didn't put him in a corner at all and she asked straightforward questions.

"Tell me about your parents."

"They were murdered when I was eighteen," said Ryo evenly. "I decided to become a cop because the investigators on their case automatically assumed they were drug smugglers."

"As I understand it, you came across the man who was suspected of killing your parents. How did you feel about it?"

"How did I feel?" It was a rather touchy subject that Ryo didn't like, but he knew he had to be honest. "It was everything I built my career around, finding the people responsible for my parents death. I ended up meeting him several times and I nearly lost my head each time. And then he ended up dying in front of my eyes and on his last breath he told me how sorry he was. It made me feel kind of…empty. It also made me relieved I didn't take the law into my own hands and go vigilante on him. Seeing him die was bad, but if I'd done it…"

"How about your relationship with Dee Latener?"

"He's been my only partner since I transferred to the 27th—"

"In more ways than one?"

Ryo managed a laugh. "You could say so. Did you ask Dee these questions?"

Vivian tsked at him. "To share information would be a violation of privacy."

"I understand." _He'll end up telling me later…_

Then the evaluation was done and Ryo could tell by the smile Vivian wore that he did all right.

"You will get the results of your evaluation in a few weeks," she said. "In the meantime, keep your head on your shoulders and continue to excel in your anger management classes."

Ryo nodded. "I will."

---

Cassandra flipped through the pages of the evaluation in front of her, her face expressionless. She closed the file and dropped it on her desk. "These results are rather obvious."

"I think so too," said Vivian, smiling. "So what's the problem?"

"Something doesn't add up," said Cassandra. "They all have terrible records. Yet they're doing great at their anger management class and these results…"

"Cass, did it ever occur to you that they're telling the truth?"

"As an I.A. officer I can't afford to take pity—"

Vivian burst out laughing. "When did accepting the truth turn into pity?"

"Don't start—"

"I evaluated Jeanie and Morgan," said Vivian. "I took the stand for the prosecution and I took the jabs the defense threw at me. I believe those children are suffering and Meyers did it. Some of the things they described…" Vivian shuddered. "I'm just glad my area of psychology isn't fixated on children. Listening to the woes of a police officer is one thing, but an abused child…"

"All right, all right," said Cassandra, throwing up her hands. "Let's say I believe all of you. My boss is still up my ass over this and the media's still up his. I need results—"

"And you've got them," said Vivian, tapping the files on her desk. "I think it's time you pull him out of your ass, huh?"

Cassandra watched her leave the office. She looked down at her desk, not at the files but at the tape sitting there. She picked it up, remembering McClain's words when they argued that day.

"_You want facts! Listen to the interrogation tape! Hear all the dirty things Meyers said about Jeanie! See what you think of him after that!"_

Sighing heavily she popped the tape into her nearby tape desk. She pressed play on the machine and started to listen.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"There's some guy watching us."

"Huh?" Bicky looked up from his burger. "What guy?"

"That guy," said Lai evenly, indiscreetly pointing his finger. The four of them were sitting at tables outside a McDonalds.

Bicky turned his head. All he saw was a wave of people going up and down the street. "Where?"

"He's standing at that corner holding a camera."

"I don't see—oh, I see him!!" He had to squint, but he saw the guy. A good fifty feet away. "Awwww, it's him!!!"

"Who?" asked Lass, sipping her soda calmly.

"That paparazzi," sighed Cal, fiddling with a French fry. "Bicky said he waited for him outside the apartment and followed him to my house. We tried to scare him off, but that obviously didn't work."

"Scare him off?"

"I shot him in the ass with a BB gun," said Bicky matter-of-factly.

"You don't own a BB gun," said Lai, narrowing his eyes. Bicky merely shrugged.

"He should just go away," growled Cal, glaring in his direction. "That Meyers case ended a while ago!!"

"I guess they want to dig up more dirt to bash Ryo," said Bicky. He glanced in that direction and promptly flipped him off.

"I don't know how he got away with it," said Lass sadly. "It's very obvious those two were being abused…"

"So you believe us?"

"Of course," said Lai. "Any idiot can see what kind of a fucking pervert Meyers is. Too bad the jury was made up of idiots."

"Tell that to him," said Cal, jabbing a finger behind her.

"I doubt he believes totally in Meyers's innocence. But that doesn't sell. Portraying him as a victim and giving people more reason to hate cops does."

"I'm gonna shoot him again," grumbled Bicky, reaching underneath the table.

"Go ahead and get yourself arrested," said Lai snidely. "Give them another reason to hate Ryo. I can see the headlines now."

Bicky cursed several times but sat back down. Cal reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. "Just ignore him. He just wants to use you to hurt Ryo."

"He better not follow us," he grumbled, shoving his burger into his mouth.

---

Ryo was starting to feel a little more confident about the psych evaluation. It had been nearly a week since the three of them underwent it and they hadn't received any news from Internal Affairs.

_No news is good news,_ he thought confidently as he flipped through a file. "Has there been any word on the Deller case?"

"Nah," said Dee, swigging some coffee. "They still can't nail the missus for her husband's homicide. The fact that neither of his kids was his and she's spent about $1 million of his $30 million life insurance policy in two weeks doesn't seem to be making much difference with the D.A.'s office."

"I think the D.A.'s still pissed at us. Or maybe they're waiting for her to spend the rest of the money." Ryo shrugged. "Well, we can't do anything about it now."

Dee looked over at him. "Hey…have you been doing all right?"

"It still hurts knowing Jeanie and Morgan are in that bastard's clutches and there's not a damn thing we can do for them, but yeah, I'm managing. I can't keep getting hung up over it. Especially since we're still trying to cling to our jobs."

"I hear ya," muttered Dee. "I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for that bitch to deliver her judgment. But since she's holding out for this long, it can't be too bad."

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Ryo smiled a little and tossed aside his case file. He was reaching for another when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Jim.

"I've got some bad news," he said, glancing over his shoulder at the chief's office. "Juvie's picked up a band of kids for assault. They said one of the kids is your foster son."

Ryo was on his feet before he finished. "I'll be right back!!" he rushed for the door.

"Hey, Ryo!! Wait up!!" Dee was quick on his heels. "What's going on?!"

"Bicky's been arrested. Again," he added angrily, not pausing in his running. "And it's not some petty larceny. They're booking him on assault."

"Assault?! That doesn't sound like something Bicky would do!!"

"I know!! I'm about to find out what the hell's going on!!"

They reached the Juvenile department in record time. Ryo and Dee didn't have to search long for Bicky. He sat in a seat wearing handcuffs, alongside Cal, Lai, and Lass.

"I _told _you not to shoot him again!!" snarled Lai. "NOW look what you did!!"

"Just shut up!!" snapped Bicky, not looking fazed by the situation. "I warned him to stop following us!!"

"Yeah, and now he's trying to charge all four of us with second degree assault!!"

"I shot him with a fucking BB gun!! He's just overreacting!!"

"Yeah, and it got us ALL arrested!! Fuck, why am _I _even here, or the rest of us?!?! It was your dumb black ass that shot him!!!"

"Christ, shut up!!! You're a bigger whiner than he is!!!"

"You!!!" the two boys started grappling with each other, which was a pitiful feat since both were handcuff.

Ryo rushed over and separated them. "That's enough, both of you!!"

Bicky immediately straightened. "Oh, h-hi Ryo!!"

"Tell me what's going on," he snapped, letting the two boys go.

"All right," said Bicky. "I left to go pick up Cal and there was this weirdo waiting outside. I start walking and he starts following me. Every time I stop to look at him he snaps a photo of me. When I got to Cal's house he started taking a butt load of pictures of the two of us. So I got pissed and shot him in the ass with a BB gun—"

"You don't own a BB gun," said Ryo hotly.

"Shh!! Not so loud!! Anyways, we meet up with Lai and Lass at McDonald's and we're eating and the fucking asshole shows up again!! He takes more pictures of us while we're eating!! Then we head to the movies and he takes even more pictures and then starts asking us questions!! I shot him again and we ran into the movie theatre!!"

"Then what happened?!" asked Dee.

"I dunno!! One minute we're watching a movie, the next a cop taps me on the shoulder and escorts us out!! Now we're ALL being booked for second degree assault!!"

"Not me," said Lai. "Here comes my brother."

Ryo turned to see a man around his own age walk briskly into the lobby. His eyes swept the room and he walked straight up to the front desk. "Can I speak to a Detective Harper, please?"

The female cop behind the desk seemed a little struck to see such a handsome man addressing her, but she recovered herself. "Uh, y-yes. And for what do you want to see him?"

"My little brother was arrested for assault. I'm here to take him home."

"B-but—" she looked over at Dee and Ryo accusingly. "How did you know? We haven't made any phone calls to families yet."

Lai snorted.

Lai's brother looked over at them and walked over. "I don't think we've met. I'm Law, Lai's older brother. I'm sorry for the trouble he's caused you."

"No problem," said Ryo, though he was a little stunned. The other officer did have a point; how did he know to come when no phone calls were made?

Just then, an officer door open and two men came out. One of them, obviously Officer Harper, looked annoyed while the other looked pissed.

"I mean it!!" yelled the pissed man. "I want them all brought up on charges!! They shouldn't be able to get away with shooting someone!!"

"With a BB gun, ass," muttered Bicky, only to get an elbow from Cal.

"All right," sighed Harper heavily. He looked at Dee, Ryo, and Law. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Dee and Ryo flashed their badges. "Randy McClain," said Ryo. "I'm here to pick up my son."

Harper looked at him stunned for a moment, and Ryo started feeling a little annoyed. No doubt the man recognized him from newspaper.

"I…see," he said finally. "Well, it's actually not that easy. Mr. Reston here says your son, along with his three friends, assaulted him with a BB gun. He demands that all four of them be brought up on assault charges."

"Is there any broken bones?" snapped Dee. "Or just a broken ego?"

Mr. Reston seemed quite offended by this and started towards Dee. But Harper restrained him.

"No broken bones," said Harper. "But he's got two nice bruises on his torso and ass."

Dee burst out laughing. Ryo felt about ready to hit him when Harper continued. "Since second degree assault is a Class B felony, I can't just release them. We have to hold them until bail is set."

"Fine," said Law.

"EH?!?!" cried everyone, looking at him in disbelief.

"You mean it?!" cried Mr. Reston, looking smug at his victory.

"Yes, fine," repeated Law. "But know this; the minute you charge them with second degree assault, I will have you charged with fourth degree stalking and fourth degree child abuse."

"Wh-WHAT?!?!" he screamed. Ryo and Dee looked at him with an equal amount of disbelief.

"You followed these children around all day snapping pictures of them," said Law coldly. "You did it without their permission and it obviously upset them."

"Still," said Harper. "I can only charge him with fourth degree child abuse if he did harm to the kids."

"It appears he did. Not only did one of the kids shoot him because he was so gravely upset by this, but then he had all four of them arrested as if they were thugs. It certainly sounds like a very unreasonable thing to do to kids."

Lai and Bicky immediately picked up on what Law was doing and put on the most hurt expressions they could muster. Cal sighed heavily and buried her hands into her hands, though it looked like she was about to cry. Lass noted what the boys were doing and got teary-eyed.

"I just wanted to have fun!!" cried Bicky, rubbing at his eyes hard to make tears come out. "But HE wouldn't leave me alone!!"

"And _I _didn't do anything wrong!!" wailed Lai, who was doing a lot more of a convincing job. "Why did he have to arrest ME?!"

"My hands hurt!!" Lass yelled suddenly and she started crying too.

Mr. Reston stared at all four of them in disbelief and then stared at Ryo, Dee, and Law who were glaring at him. "Um…I…I guess…I overreacted."

Harper sighed in relief. "Thank God. All right, you can take your kids home." He reached for his belt and pulled out keys.

And just as quickly the four of them calmed down when the handcuffs were off. And as soon as Harper went back into his office, Bicky jumped up with joy. "All right!! Time to—"

Dee smacked him on the head. "None of that!!"

"It really wasn't my fault," Lai said to Law. "Or Lass or Cal. Dumb ass over here caused it."

"I know," said Law, looking at his watch. "My meeting's just about over. But they should be all right by themselves."

"Thanks for coming over so quickly."

"No problem." Law turned to Dee and Ryo. "It was nice meeting and I'm sorry again for the trouble."

"We should be apologizing," said Ryo. "But…how _did _you know to come here?"

Law chuckled and started away. "I really must be going."

Mr. Reston glared at them. "I can't believe it!! You little bastards aren't sorry for what you did!!"

Ryo advanced on him. He didn't dare put his hands on him, but he got right in his face. "Know this, Mr. Reston. If you _ever_ come near my kid again I will come after you!! And don't even bother printing about what a horrible father I am!! I'll make sure it gets out you follow a bunch of children all day and snapped pictures of them!!"

Mr. Reston looked speechless. Ryo took that opportunity to herd the kids out of Juvie and through the front doors. He heard a dull thud behind him and groaned in disbelief. Dee just HAD to hit that guy.

"Hey, thanks for bailing us out!!" said Bicky, though his eyes were red and sore. "Back to the movies, then!!"

"No, you're grounded for a month," said Ryo, feeling exhausted. "You may have gotten out of this legal mess, but you still shot someone with a BB gun you stole. Now go straight home now!! I'll be calling the house in twenty minutes and if you're not there it's another month."

"Aw, c'mon Ryo—"

"Now!!"

Bicky grumbled to himself, but headed down the street.

"Thanks again, Ryo," said Cal, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"This is the last time I hang out with that idiot," grumbled Lai. He turned to Lass. "Wanna go see that movie now?"

"You bet!!" said Lass, though she nursed her sore wrists.

"All right. Wanna come, Cal?"

"Nah, I'm heading home!! Bye!!"

Ryo watched all the kids head off their own ways. He was glad all of them had a semblance of a stable living environment. And didn't have to live with someone like Meyers…

Dee came out the front doors, looking quite pleased with himself. "Well!! That turned out well!!"

"Did you have to hit Reston?" asked Ryo wearily.

"Oh, c'mon!! Do you know what I went through to make it look like an accident?!"

"I can see where Bicky gets most of his ideas…"

---

"What a day!!" heaved Dee as he collapsed in his seat. "But that's one crisis we adverted!!"

"I'll say," said Ryo, shifting through his files again. "I have enough on my plate without my teenage foster son getting a felony arrest."

"McClain."

Ryo stiffened, as well as Dee. He turned to see Cassandra standing right behind him. She didn't look happy at all.

"McClain," she repeated. She looked over at Dee. "Latener."

"Can we help you?" asked Ryo as politely as he could.

"You passed your psych evaluations," she said bluntly. "And you passed your anger management classes."

Ryo never felt so happy in his life. His job was secured!! _Their_ jobs were secured!!

But he felt a strong 'but' at the end of her statement.

"This means you are no longer being supervised by Internal Affairs," she continued. "But know this; the next mistake you make _will_ be your last."

"We won't make any other mistakes," said Ryo firmly. "We're good cops."

Cassandra said no more and moved down the aisle towards Drake. He looked a little nervous, but whatever she said was probably the same she said to them. He gave a loud 'whoop' and grabbed the nearest person, who happened to be J.J. in a tight hug.

Dee laughed a little. "Well, all's well that ends well!!"

"For right now," said Ryo, stacking up his files.

"Aw, don't jinx us!!"

As if by magic, the department door slammed open and a frantic woman rushed inside. Ryo spun in his seat to get a good look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and fresh tears were still staining her cheeks. She caught sight of him and made a beeline for him.

_What'd I do now? _he wondered.

But he didn't need to wonder. When she got close enough she clutched his arm. "Randy McClain!! Please help me!!"

"What happened?" he asked, glancing around. Cassandra was looking over at them, along with everyone else in the precinct.

"My daughter…" the woman choked on a sob. "Calvin Meyers raped my daughter!!"


End file.
